Quantum Computing Got 20x Closer. It Threatens A Third of All Bitcoin episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 3, 2026 · 1H 9M

Quantum Computing Got 20x Closer. It Threatens A Third of All Bitcoin

from Unchained · host Laura Shin

Google just set a deadline. Quantum computers could break Bitcoin's encryption by 2029. Are blockchains ready? Sponsored by ⁠Nexo⁠ Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges.  Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Google and Oratomic published quantum computing research on the same day, and together they redraw the timeline for when blockchains need to be post-quantum secure. Google's paper, co-authored by Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake and Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh, estimates 2029 for breaking the elliptic curve cryptography that protects Bitcoin and Ethereum. Oratomic's findings are sharper: utility-scale quantum computers may need only 10,000 qubits, not the millions previously assumed, and the company already has 6,000 in the lab. With 6.7 million BTC in vulnerable addresses and a newly identified 9-minute attack window on unspent Bitcoin transactions, the question is no longer whether blockchains need to migrate. It's whether they can do it fast enough. Guests: ⁠Alex Pruden, Co-Founder & CEO, Project Eleven ⁠Dolev Bluvstein, CEO of Oratomic Links: Unchained: Q-Day Is Imminent. Can Bitcoin Survive the Quantum Threat? Solana Deploys Post-Quantum Signatures on Testnet Is Nic Carter Exaggerating Bitcoin's Quantum Risk? Yes, Says One Core Dev Research Papers: Google: Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies Against Quantum Vulnerabilities Oratomic: Shor's Algorithm with as Few as 10,000 Reconfigurable Atomic Qubits (arXiv) Caltech: Useful Quantum Computers Could Be Built with as Few as 10,000 Qubits Companies & Tools: Project Eleven Project Eleven: Yellow Pages Oratomic BIP 360: Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) Standards & Infrastructure: NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards Cloudflare: State of the Post-Quantum Internet Google Quantum AI: Willow & Error Correction Algorand: Quantum-Resistant Falcon Signatures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google just set a deadline. Quantum computers could break Bitcoin's encryption by 2029. Are blockchains ready? Sponsored by ⁠Nexo⁠ Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges.  Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Google and Oratomic published quantum computing research on the same day, and together they redraw the timeline for when blockchains need to be post-quantum secure. Google's paper, co-authored by Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake and Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh, estimates 2029 for breaking the elliptic curve cryptography that protects Bitcoin and Ethereum. Oratomic's findings are sharper: utility-scale quantum computers may need only 10,000 qubits, not the millions previously assumed, and the company already has 6,000 in the lab. With 6.7 million BTC in vulnerable addresses and a newly identified 9-minute attack window on unspent Bitcoin transactions, the question is no longer whether blockchains need to migrate. It's whether they can do it fast enough. Guests: ⁠Alex Pruden, Co-Founder & CEO, Project Eleven ⁠Dolev Bluvstein, CEO of Oratomic Links: Unchained: Q-Day Is Imminent. Can Bitcoin Survive the Quantum Threat? Solana Deploys Post-Quantum Signatures on Testnet Is Nic Carter Exaggerating Bitcoin's Quantum Risk? Yes, Says One Core Dev Research Papers: Google: Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies Against Quantum Vulnerabilities Oratomic: Shor's Algorithm with as Few as 10,000 Reconfigurable Atomic Qubits (arXiv) Caltech: Useful Quantum Computers Could Be Built with as Few as 10,000 Qubits Companies & Tools: Project Eleven Project Eleven: Yellow Pages Oratomic BIP 360: Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) Standards & Infrastructure: NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards Cloudflare: State of the Post-Quantum Internet Google Quantum AI: Willow & Error Correction Algorand: Quantum-Resistant Falcon Signatures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Quantum Computing Got 20x Closer. It Threatens A Third of All Bitcoin

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This episode was published on April 3, 2026.

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Google just set a deadline. Quantum computers could break Bitcoin's encryption by 2029. Are blockchains ready? Sponsored by ⁠Nexo⁠ Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and...

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